


To Go Among Mad People

by 1JettaPug



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Batman: Arkham (Video Games), Batman: The Animated Series, DCU, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Accidental Bonding, Adopted Children, Bonding, Crimes & Criminals, Emotional Manipulation, Established Relationship, Father Figures, Father-Daughter Relationship, Guns, Implied Relationships, Implied Sexual Content, Kidnapping, M/M, Mind Manipulation, Tea, Villains, Violence, Weapons
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-04
Updated: 2018-01-13
Packaged: 2019-02-28 08:31:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13267632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1JettaPug/pseuds/1JettaPug
Summary: “But I don't want to live among mad people," Alice remarked."Oh, you can't help that," the Hatter grinned broadly down at little Alice. "We are all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad."





	1. Chapter 1

_It felt so hot and humid out by the river bank, Alice thought idly. She looked down at her hands and once more found a book of sorts. She had never opened it but once. It had no pictures or conversation in it, and she did not much care for a book that did not have any of those._

_"What is the use of a book," thought Alice, "without pictures or conversation?"_

_She did not know why she always said that each time she found herself by the river bank. She also did not know why about this time a White Rabbit, with eyes so pink, always appeared and dashed by her._

_Alice turned her head and saw the White Rabbit racing by. There was nothing so very remarkable about that at this point for her, having seen the same thing a thousand times before. Nor did she find it very strange that the Rabbit started to talk to himself, saying, "Oh, dear! Oh, dear! I shall be late for a very important date."_

_She wondered what the White Rabbit always meant whenever he said that, but she could not question it too much since he was all dressed up and holding a pocket watch._

_It was about that time when she began to get up and follow the Rabbit. Curiously, she wondered if this would be the time she would finally find out where he was going and what he was late for. Like she had done time and time again, she ran across the field after him, just in time to see him pop down a large rabbit hole under some hedge._

_Without a moment's hesitation, Alice jumped in the hole after him, never once considering how in the world she would get out again._

_The rabbit hole stretched straight ahead like a tunnel for some way, and then dropped off so suddenly that Alice did not have a moment to think about stopping herself before she fell down a deep well..._

**...**

**...**

...

Her dreams were always the same. They started with images of her by some sort of river bank with a book in her hands. Sometimes she got up and ran to the rabbit hole and waited for the White Rabbit to show up so she could ask him where he was going. It was difficult to make out anything else around her, but she always saw everything in about a five foot radius around her with some clarity.

"Wake up, Alice!"

And just like that, Alice was back in the real world. She was back in the orphanage that was packed with children of all ages, from rough and tough teenagers to tiny whiny babies. She would have preferred to close her eyes and go back to sleep, to go back to chasing White Rabbits.

Instead, her eyes snapped open and the ceiling swirled into sight. It was the same old familiar sight of the same old plain plaster ceiling, plain white plaster walls, and bleached white curtains over the windows.

She blinked, then realized that she was sitting upright in bed. Someone was talking her ear off, she thought to herself. Well, she might as well try to listen.

“Wake up, you lazy thing!” a middle aged woman yelled at her.

Alice paused to pretend to think for a minute, face screwed up in concentration. “Mrs. Fink... I remember having the most curious dream again.” she told her. "I think I'll have it all my life."

Mrs. Fink shook her head, "Quite the pretentious vocabulary for a four-year-old."

Alice made a face. "I'm seven and a quarter." she said, standing up from her bed.

"I don't care how old you are. Get up! Get dressed! There's chores to be done today! There'll be no eating until you help out around here, missy!" Then Alice proceeded to make her bed up, straightening out the blankets and arranging the pillow neatly.

With that, old Mrs. Fink turned on her heels and walked out of the room, allowing Alice to change. She dressed in a simple blue dress with white leggings. They were hand-me-downs donated to the orphanage, and the material was rather worn, but they were clean.

After pulling on her leggings, she glanced around and noticed that no one else was around. Goodness, she really was late getting up, then.

After pulling on her shoes, she walked downstairs, he saw two boys, Zack and Jack, already in the hallway, sweeping. They were doing her chores, and they did not look very happy about that.

"The fuck is Mrs. Fink thinking," Jack scowled, pausing his sweeping the moment he laid eyes on Alice.

"Yeah, making us do your chores!" His brother sent a glare in her direction. "If we don't get to stay in bed and daydream all day, then what gives you the right, runt?" Zack barked, his dark eyes throwing knives into Alice.

Alice just stood her ground. "I overslept. I didn't mean to." she said, timidly.

"Don't screw up again, then." Jack told her, coldly.

"Yeah, or else we'll be mopping the floor with your face!"

"But you're sweeping, not mopping." Alice said. She flinched when both boys came up to her and held their fists an inch away from her face.

"Stop standing there and get to work." They both told her.

"We'll be seeing you, blondie." Jack said, then walked away alongside his brother.

Alice opened her eyes and curled her hands into fists. "Ohhh, one of these days," she growled, punching her fist into her palm.

Her anger never lasted long, though. And after some time sweeping her temper settled down, and she settled into her normal routine. For the rest of the day, the children helped clean around the orphanage, they ate whatever was being served for lunch that day, then they played games or did whatever they wanted to do.

For an hour Alice, and other children her age, watched the teenagers play Guitar Hero with their half-broken controller. Then she moved on and looked over the shoulders of some kids playing cards with each other. They shooed her off rather quickly, though. They didn't want 'some snot-nosed brat giving away who had what cards'. Alice thought they were rather rude to assume she would do such a thing.

After dinner came and went, Alice found herself in her usual spot for the evening. She pulled up an old wooden chair that was colored with all sorts of paints and put it right next to an old fallen bookshelf in the corner of a living room. The old bookshelf- that Mrs. Fink claimed she'd get to fixin' one of these days- was filled to the brim with children's books and old classics. Alice loved to grab a different book each day and read it over, but she would always pick a second book to read after she had finished the first. The second book was always the same book.

Alice smiled fondly as her fingertips ran over the faded title of her favorite book of all time: Alice In Wonderland. Quickly, she flipped the book open and dove right into the pages.

She knew it was silly, but she loved to imagine herself as the character Alice. To be _Alice_ , Alice thought to herself, was much better than being plain little Alice Conroy. She wished that she could go and meet some of the most unusual, whimsical, and delightful characters just like her. She wished that she could travel to far off places and explore new and amazing lands. Oh if only she-

**Ding!**

**Dong!**

Alice sighed and set down her books. How long had she been reading? She gave the grandfather clock on the other side of the room a glance. Long enough it seemed, she thought. Wonderful...

"Oh, well," she sighed, getting up from her chair. She slid her book back into its rightful place on its shelf, then proceeded to make her way back towards the bedrooms before Mrs. Fink found that she was not in bed before nine.

She passed the main living room and noticed that the teenagers were all glued to the TV in the center. Curiously, she entered the room and poked her head around the back of the couch to see what was happening.

_"-That's right, Tony. Five Arkham patients have escaped this evening, killing two guards and injuring several others."_

"Only two," one of the teens muttered. "Would've guessed more from Arkham's finest."

"Shut up, Jason," a girl punched him on the shoulder. "I can't frickin' hear the TV."

_"-han Crane, Edward Nygma, and Jervis Tetch. Those are the patients who have managed to escape thi-"_

"Great! Now we can't figure out who escaped until the eleven o'clock news!" the girl complained.

"Yeah," Another boy whined.

"Who fuckin' cares about the 'Dork Squad'?" one asked. "I wanna know if Harley got out!"

Meanwhile, Alice frowned at the TV. Escaped patients? Escaped Arkham patients? She had heard of the famous Arkham Asylum during her two year stay here, but she never got to watch any news about escaping patients. It captured her attention far more than it should have, wondering about where one would go after bursting free from an asylum and how they would pay for a taxi, since Mrs. Fink's bony hand captured her shoulder in a harsh grip.

"And what do you think you're doing?" she turned Alice around and glared down at her. "You're supposed to be in bed, missy!"

"I was headed there-" Alice tried to say, but she was cut off.

"Nonono, I can see right through your lies," she told her. "You've earned an extra hour doing dishes tomorrow!"

"Wonderful..." Alice muttered, softly.

.

**Two Weeks Later:**

.

Alice could not sleep a wink.

It wasn't just because a brilliant moonbeam was slanting through a gap in the curtains. It wasn't just because it was shining right on to her pillow.

It was because she hadn't had her 'White Rabbit' dream for over two weeks, and it was enough to bring her to tears. She always had had that dream. It was like a security blanket to her. It had been with her for as long as she could remember, so for her to not have it...

Alice wouldn't bare another night of pitch blackness ruling over her mind. She just couldn't!

With envy, she glanced around at the others in the bedroom. The other children in the dormitory had been asleep for hours.

Alice wished her blue eyes would close, and she could lay quite still. She wished that she could doze off and dream- dream not only her favorite dream- but her dream that felt as if it removed her from the orphanage.

With a heavy sigh, Alice knew it was no good.

The moonbeam was brighter than ever on her face, so Alice decided to get up and completely shut the curtains. Silent as a mouse, Alice slipped out of bed and tip-toed over to the window. Right as she reached the curtains, she hesitated. Her bright blue eyes had locked onto two white rabbit ears poking up above the hedge running along the iron fence of the orphanage. They turned the corner and Alice saw what looked to be a giant white rabbit entering the grounds below. 

Alice opened her mouth to say something or anything at all, but no sound came out. Her throat, like her whole body, was frozen on the spot. 

Then the creature stopped for a moment and glanced upward at the window that Alice was looking out from. She gave a yelp and pulled back from the window. She flew right into her bed and hid underneath the blanket.

Under the blanket, Alice waited. She waited, and she wondered. Was she already asleep? Was this all some sort of dream? No, no, she thought to herself. She had always had the same dream. If not her dream, then pitch blackness. Besides, she had already pinched her arm and winced, so she knew that she wasn't sleeping.

She heard a noise right in front of her bed, a creak of the old floorboard, and began to pull her blanket down off her head. With frightened eyes she looked out towards a shadowy figure extending his hand towards her. She tried to open her mouth and yell, but something was clamped over her face, a sharp smell that she didn't recognize, and her eyes widened in shock.

Alice had only a few moments before she lost consciousness.

Her eyes finally shut only after capturing the sight of the stranger's cheshire grin.


	2. Chapter 2

Alice woke up to the sound of a ticking clock.

She set up and realized that she was no longer in the dormitory along with the other children. It took one moment to remember why she wasn’t there and another to understand that she was now in some place completely different.

Alice whimpered and muttered something under her breath. Her words seemed to catch the attention of the shadowy figure resting in the rocking chair on the other side of the room. They stood up and extended a gloved hand out to grab her shoulder, forcing Alice to jump back and press herself up against the corner where the bed met the wall.

“ _Alice,_ ” they called out softly, their hands held up to show they meant no harm. “It’s me, _Alice._ It’s _me._ You’re safe now, my dear.” they added.

Those gloved hands came down, hallway light from the cracked bedroom door illuminating a man's face. Streaks of blonde hair covered his eyes from her, but they did nothing to hide his large overbite.

Alice turned her head a bit at the sight. She... She couldn't help but think... Think about how he looked so familiar...

In the corner of her eyes, she caught sight of those hands still moving closer to her. She couldn't help her panic as the words raced past her lips.

"Stop!" She whimpered as those gloved hands were but an inch from her. Her eyes snapped up at the man, and she finally saw his eyes. He had jerked backwards and his bangs had been swept back by the force, revealing his pale, lonely blue gaze. Though, now one could add hurt to that list as well since her words seemed to strike at him with lightning force.

His lower lip actually seemed to quiver for a moment, as if he were about to burst into tears, but he quickly recovered.

"No, no, no. This ju _sT WoN'T Do_." he declared. Swiftly, his hands retreated back to his side before they shot up and grabbed the top of his top hat, squishing it down on his head. "This meeting ju _sT WoN'T dO_!" He sat down on the edge of her bed and sighed, "I guess we will just have to try this again, my dear. Now, I do apologize in advance-" He shook his head and reached into his pocket. Before Alice could react, she had another white rag over her face.

.  
.  
.

It was about two weeks ago, when Jervis decided the first thing he wanted to do outside of Arkham Asylum- besides change out of his drab prison outfit and put on his hat- was to find his dear, sweet _Alice_. 

Yes, yes. The Mad Hatter absolutely had to find his little _Alice_. Ah, but like every time before, he had to search for her. Typically, he found her within a week or so, but this time he wasn't looking for an **Alice** \- A FaKE oNe- coming out of a liquor store. He wasn't going to look for his **Alice** heading for the train to get home. Also, he wasn't about to go searching around the local clubs or businesses for **Alice** this time. No, no, no, non _ononono- NO_!

Jervis took in a deep breath, pausing in his work for a moment. His gloved hands curled up, then released.

This time the Mad Hatter wouldn't be tricked by those fake **Alices**.

No, no, _no_. This time he knew how to finally find his one and only _Alice_.

His _beloved_ March Hare had helped him, helped him see the truth. Yes, yes, yes. For weeks, his dear, Jonathan, had sat him down in their cell after he came back from his sessions with his so called 'doctors'. It was a slow process at first, but after a little while Jervis' eyes soon lit up in realization. He thought himself a fool to think that a fully grown woman could ever be his _Alice_. He truly must have been quite mad to think that they could ever be his sweet, little _Alice_. _Alice_ was a seven-year-old child! _Alice_ was loving and gentle, courteous to all, trustful, and wildly curious! How could he have ever expected some random woman to be his _Alice_ when they were all past the time of knowing childhood innocence and imagination? Not to mention how every woman he had kidnapped was generally not well-mannered or very clever.

As a result of his realization, the Mad Hatter knew he had a thousand things to do in preparation for _Alice_.

The Dormouse had told him that it would be very easy and simple to find his _Alice_ in one of the many orphanages that Gotham City had. He had to remember to invite Edward over for tea some time in order to thank him for the suggestion.

The March Hare thought the Dormouse's plan was a decent one, but he told Jervis that he would have nothing to do with her. Jervis thought him rude for a moment, but his mood quickly dissipated. He smiled widely when he told his dearest that he would grow used to her when he met her. If she was- NO, no, No, sHE wOuLD bE- _Alice_ was a wonderful person to hold a conversation with.

Ooh, _Alice_. Jervis sat back in his chair and sighed. Oh poor _Alice_. Her mind must be all aflutter. He couldn't blame her, considering the poor dear was probably out there right now trapped outside of _Wonderland_. But he would have her right as rain soon enough! Anything that happened to her outside of _Wonderland_ couldn't be fixed by a nice cup of tea!

He clapped his hands together. In an instant, his Rabbits appeared in a nice, neat line. They were all ready for tea parties, ready to listen to him, ready to _rip the hearts out of his enemies' chests_... Ah, _lovely_.

"Come, come, my Rabbits," Jervis looked one last time in the mirror, straightening his precious hat. "We've got to go fetch _Alice_ tonight! _Poor dear..._ We can't leave her waiting another minute!"

"Yes."

"Yes, _what_?"

"We understand." Each of the Rabbits said at the same time.

" _What_?!"

"We understand, Mr. Hat."

" _ **WhAT**_?!"

Jervis drew in a sharp breath, then exhaled. "Oh for- This is still so _maddening..._ I've really got to look into refining the neural interface."

.  
.  
.

Presently, Jervis was sitting in an old office chair surrounded by his hats and masks, spinning around like a child. The waiting was intolerable. He absolutely hated this part with every fiber of his being. It was somewhat understandable the first time, considering he had to chloroform her to ensure she didn't wake up the others around them. He was perfectly fine with waiting for her to wake up in her new room.

He was fine with it. Truly.

But, he had to admit to himself that he found her initial reaction... well, he wasn't quite expecting what he got. _Alice_ had acted like a scared child, nothing like the curious brave one that he expected to wake up.

Now, physically, he had found his _Alice_ , and she was perfect right down to a T. The only thing he had to do was make a few alterations to her outfit. For that, he simply left her resting on her bed and ordered his newest Rabbits to dress _Alice_ up and make her look right and proper for his tea party.

Thankfully, he had had the foresight to have gotten two female 'Rabbits' to join him after an evening stroll down one of Gotham City's finest alleyways. They had been outfitted with the same white jumpsuit as the males, but their masks were a bit sleeker and had fuller eyelashes.

When his Rabbits had finished dressing _Alice_ , they opened the door and left without a word. Soon after, Jervis had poked his head in and smiled at their handiwork. Her tiny, thin frame had been clad in a short-sleeved, knee-length blue dress with with a white apron, and white tights with tiny black buckle shoes adorned her feet. Even her unruly mass of blonde hair was combed out quite nicely and contained a black ribbon tucked neatly under her hair.

Oh yes, yes, yes. She looked like his _Alice_ , right down to a T. T... Tea? Tea! Oh how splendid! He could go for some tea right now! Perhaps some chamomile tea to lower his stress... Or maybe- 

Jervis had to stop himself. He shook his head and breathed in deeply. If he got off topic now, then he'd never be able to get back on track. And so, he stopped spinning for a moment and rested his head on his work table. Some tea did sound so utterly wonderful right now, but how could he throw a tea party without his _Alice_?

Oh _Alice_...

He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he silently thought about that small part of him that was so worried that there might be a chance that she wouldn't be his _Alice_. Jervis shut his eyes. He dreaded to think what he might do if she _could not..._

_Would not, could not, would not, could not, would not join the dance._

_Would not, could not, would not, could not, could not join the dance._

" _What matters it how far we go_?" he murmured, softly to himself. " _There is another shore, you know, upon the other side. The further off from England the nearer is to France- Then turn not pale, beloved snail, but come and join the dance. Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, will you join the dance? Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, won't you join the dance_?"

His hands, some time during the Mock Turtle's Song, had found a prototype headband he had been working on. Jervis didn't even need to open his eyes to see that it was indeed a controlling band meant for... for Alice. He prayed he was never forced to use it. To reduce her to nothing but a puppet... Oh, it broke his heart just thinking about it. He'd seen the impact his previous bands had had on those fake **Alices**. They were so lifeless, so dull, so not _Alice_.

He would have broken it right then and there between his hands if he didn't care so much about having a fail-safe.

Hopefully, he thought, she would just need the right words and a little coaxing. Yes, he could deal with a little detail being out of place for right now, but he hoped he could help her see the madness as he saw it.

Suddenly, the door to his right opened up with a sharp squeak, effectively catching his attention from his darker thoughts. His eyes snapped open and turned towards the door to spot one of his Rabbits taking up most of the doorway. He squinted at them, then racked his brain trying to recall what orders he had given out again.

What was it?

What _was_ it?

A wide grin quickly began to spread across his face, nearly as large as the Cheshire Cat's grin. "Oh _yes_!" He exclaimed, nearly tumbling over in his chair as he attempted to manage to jump to his feet in a flash. He steadied himself on his feet before running right up to his Rabbit and declared, "It's _Alice_ , isn't it?!"

"Yes,"

Jervis chose to ignore how the Rabbit forgot to say 'Yes, sir.' and chose to be excited instead. "Yes, yes, _yes_. _Alice_ is awake! I do hope she's ready for tea this time!" he giggled, wildly. 

>

.

>

Awareness came slowly to Alice. The first thing she noticed was that she was lying on something soft, sinking into it, and it was mostly quiet. Her head was spinning when she opened her eyes. Spinning so fast, so much that Alice felt sick- the same sick feeling she got when someone pushed her too hard and fast on the playground's merry-go-round.

She leaned her head further back into her pillow, hoping her stomach and mind would settle down. Eventually, the nauseating feeling subsided, but still her eyes remained closed. In the darkness of her mind, she tried to remember her last moments awake. 

All she could recall was that she wasn't where she was supposed to be. Of course, it didn't take the soft feel of the silk sheets beneath her to tell her that she was not in the orphanage anymore, but she knew that she was somewhere different, somewhere unusual. It was just a feeling, of course.

However, as she slowly opened her eyes, she found her gut feeling to be exactly right. 

Instantly, her eyes snapped to the rocking chair in the corner of the room. For a moment, she expected to find the man that was sitting there like last time, but instead she found it empty and still. The fact that it was empty, though, did not help calm her.

Instead, Alice found herself wondering where in the world the man was. Who is he? Where am I? What's happening? She thought of anything and everything for her first few minutes awake. Ten minutes flew by before she found herself actually taking the time to explore her new surroundings.

Alice found herself enjoying the calm silence, then. It was much different than a stranger rushing right towards her and talking to her. Yes, this time she could actually notice that she was on a soft bed in a very comfortable room. Alice looked around, her sparkling eyes absorbing every single detail.

Someone, she thought, knew she loved reading _Alice's Adventures In Wonderland_.

She didn't know why that was her first thought, but she was just so surprised by it all that she couldn't help but think that. The entire room was decorated like it was straight out of Wonderland. Wallpaper featuring all the characters, from the White Rabbit to the Gryphon to the Knave of Hearts. Furniture with the most articulate carvings and quotes etched into it, and little dolls and chess pieces scattered about the heart shaped carpet on the floor.

Alice found herself gawking at it all, completely forgetting about her situation.

Suddenly, the door to the room opened, and Alice found herself shrinking back against the wall in surprise. That mysterious figure was back, and he strode right in with grace and confidence and gave her a deep bow. “ _Alice_ ~” he smiled fondly at her.

"Where... Where am I?" Alice asked him. "How do you know my name?" She was shaking just a bit and hadn't removed herself from the corner just yet, but it was going a little better than the last time since she wasn't knocked out again.

"Are you feeling better now, _Alice_? Would you like some tea now that you're awake?" He asked her, ignoring her questions for the moment.

"What's happening...?" Alice croaked out. "Please... Go away, my head hurts," Her face started to scrunch up a bit, almost as if she were about to start sobbing. That was enough to make the stranger freeze on the spot. 

Slowly, he slid out from the shadows and sat down on the corner of her bed, keeping his hands interlocked on his lap. From the corner of his eye, he could see that she was still trembling a bit, but he could sense a sort of determination about her that he found wonderfully intriguing.

"Well, I think this is going much better than last time." He smiled softly. "Wouldn't you say, _Alice_?"

Alice stiffened, and the man's gaze hardened for a moment, as if he were waiting to see her reaction. Alice’s blue eyes narrowed and she simply asked, "Who are you?"

"No, no, no." He shook his head from side to side. He stopped and turned his head towards her, asking, "Who _are you_?"

Alice's eyebrows bunched together. "I just asked you that..."

"Who _are you_?" he repeated.

"What..." Just like that, the scene from her favorite Disney movie popped up in her mind, and Alice found herself finally responding to the man's question. "Well... _Well, don't you think you ought to tell me who you are first_?"

The mad threw his head back as he let out a joyous burst of laughter. His smiled widened and he asked her, " _Why_?"

Alice shook her head at the question. She wasn't in the mood to recite lines from the movie; she wanted answers. "Sir, please. Who are you? Why'm I here? Did I do something wrong? Am I in trouble? I didn’t mean to break Mrs. Fink’s old vase last week, honest. And the bucket of worms in the fridge wasn’t my fault, Tommy was the one who threw them in there after I told him not to. And it wasn't my fault that the fridge magnets were moved to make a dirty picture. It was Billy and Josh's fault. They're always doing that, but Mrs. Fink was so angry that she grabbed me and a few others up and punished up. Had to go a week without any desserts, too."

Alice paused for a moment to catch her breath, then suddenly gasped. "Oh I know why I'd be in trouble!" she exclaimed, rather sensible for a child who had been torn away from all her familiar, yet harsh, surroundings.

"Oh dear, oh dear," The man said, moving a bit closer to her now. "What did you do, _Alice_?"

"I... I got a little 'wild' with the paints..." she muttered, twiddling her thumbs. "Painted roses all over the walls on the dormitory a few days ago... Mrs. Fink got so red in the face. She got so mad that she took my books away... Said it was to blame for me being the way I am. Mrs. Fink doesn't like me being curious or creative, you see."

Jervis' head raised up upon hearing that. His brow furrowed and his head turned slightly in confusion. "Come again, my dear?"

"My books are gone. Mrs. Fink threw them out, because she doesn't like me being like _Alice_." Alice told him slowly.

"Your books," he frowned. " _Alice's_ books... Oh, no, no, no. Not _your_ books..." He hung his head in sorrow. "To throw away a child's books... Why it's worse than chopping off heads." he whispered under his breath.

Blue eyes that seemed to hold an infinite supply of curiosity, ever holding onto hidden questions, suddenly met his own, and her saddened expression was slowly starting to drive him mad! Oh, if that wretched woman- whatever her name was- were here this instant, he would have head chopped off and rolLiNg AbOUt T _hE FlOoR FoR_ -

His hands curled into fists, then released. He couldn't get himself worked up, right now. Right now, he had to tend to _Alice_. First thing's first, however, and he knew that would be to get her mind set just right. She had already shown that she had fallen quite a bit down the rabbit hole, but he knew that he was going to have to work with her mind to get her back to her natural _Alice_ state.

He exhaled softly and inched over until he was a few inches away from her. "Oh, dear _Alice_ , what have they done to you? Why, I bet you hardly recognize _me_..."

"I don't know you," Alice said, flatly. "...But you do look familiar."

"What if," he said, smoothly. "I were to show you this." His hands went up to the top hat atop his head and removed it, lowering it back down and placing it on her lap. "Now do you remember who I might be, dear _Alice_?"

"This... This is the _Mad Hatter_ 's top hat." Alice said, softly. "But... But that means... I mean, that means you're- but I can't believe that, that's impossible."

" _I daresay you haven't had much practice_ ," said the man, and there’s an edge to his voice now. " _When I was younger, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast_."

"That's _mad_!" Alice tried not to snap but failed. She didn’t know this man, and she didn’t know where she was. "I thought it was just a story."

"Oh..." The smile fell from the man's face. In fact, his face was turning strangely blank. "You... You don't remember, _Alice_? You... You don't remember _me_?"

There was something about the man's voice as he asked that question, a slight hitch to his breath, but it was there and gone and Alice didn't know if she imagined it.

She tried to think, but it was like there was a fog in her head, like it was all filled with cotton balls. She had vague flashes, more like feelings, but when she tried to remember him, she could only picture the pictures in her book and images from the movies.

Her heart started to beat faster now. If she did know him, then why can't she remember him?

"Who _are_ you?" she asked, more insistently.

There was a beat, a moment where those blue eyes look right at her, through her, as if he was trying to see into her head, like he knew exactly who she was.

"Oh dear, my dear... What have they been telling you? Have they been feeding you lies, simply telling you that your adventures were just mere stories." In a split second, he went from sitting on her bed to standing on top of the covers, barely managing to keep his balance. "Well, I will be the one to remind you, dear _Alice_! Yes, yes, _yes_! I shall take up the task! I won't rest until you remember that cats can disappear, dodos can purpose a caucus race, and caterpillars smoke from pipes!"

He paused for a moment, holding his chin between his thumb and index finger, and hummed. "I think I'll approach it like if I were to partake in my usual haberdashery."

"What are you-" But Alice was cut off.

"Don't you see? It'll be like making hats." he told her. "To rebuild what you have forgotten, it will take a steady hand, consistency and care. There will not be any shortcuts. No, no, _no_. We can't cheat this process or else we'll end up with a _bad product_. We'll strive for _perfection_ , mY D _eaR, Or DiE TrYiNg_!" He caught her concerned look for a second, then coughed awkwardly into his fist. "I- I mean the last part _figuratively_ , of course."

He cleared his throat and continued, "Don't you see? It's time for you to abandon all those nightmares of your past, my dear. It's time to rebuild. You need only to open your eyes once again. Escape your past and fall down the rabbit hole once more, _Alice_. We need you down here in _Wonderland_... _All_ of us... It hasn't been quite the same without _you_." he sighed, softly.

"So I will ask you to join the dance, will you, won't you?" He tilted his head down, forcing the shadows to cover his face save for his gleaming blue eyes. "You _will_ , won't _you_?" he asked her, kneeling down on the bed before her with open arms.

Alice's mind ached as she looked at the... the Mad Hatter before her. She didn't exactly know what was happening right now, and she didn't have anything or anyone around to tell her that what he was saying was wrong.

Could she be having a strange, realistic dream? No, her dreams had never lasted this long or were this clear before.

Could she be having some sort of crazy delusion? No, this felt much too real to not be real.

Could... Could he be _right_?

Were the adults in her life lying to her? Had they been feeding her lies, simply telling her that those adventures in the books were just mere stories?

Oh, how she felt torn between reality and Wonderland...

The pain and confusion, she could only later guess, were what drove her into the Hatter's arms. She burrowed her face into his chest and started to break down.

Alice felt so lost and confused, right now.

She so desperately needed a good hug, and she was thankful that the Hatter was gentle with her. "Shh, _Alice_ ," he whispered, softly. "You'll be okay, my dear. You're safe with me. We'll fix you up in no time at all."

"Speaking of time..." He smiled, pocketing his golden watch. "It's six o'clock again. It's time for tea. Would you like some tea, _Alice_?"

"Sure...?" she muttered against his vest.

The Mad Hatter felt the corners of his mouth curl backwards until he grinned a Cheshire Cat's grin. "WoN _dERFuL~!_ "


End file.
